apay. activist. acrobat. advocate. avant garde. all, albeit sporadic.

starting over.

2010-01-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

hello.

in the off chance that you're even slightly interested in my blog, i've started a new one. feel free to sneak a peek.

looking back.

2009-11-26T19:34:00.000-08:00

today i decided to write again.
and today, our plumber started replacing our bathroom tiles so he's banging on our floor and there's a ringing in my ears as i type.

moving on,
to say that it's been a while is an understatement. i swore to write, and often. and this pledge, i have broken. i have reasons, none of which are excuses. not the broken heart, not the bar exam, not my flighty mood swings. i don't mean to bombard this blog every now and then with a loooooong summary of the happenings of my life. but, that's just what i'm going to do right now.

since last i wrote, i went river trekking, jumped 25 feet into ice-cold water, rappelled down a ravine, modeled a wedding gown for gil macaibay in a fashion show (for charity!), went river rafting, went to australia for the World Youth Day, graduated from law school, lived in makati for 6 months, went places, did things, saw things...

now, i'm typing this, wasting my time on looklet (it's a fashion site where you play virtual paperdolls, quite addictive), trying to beat my sneezies high score (it's an app), face-booking, whilst wondering where i'm supposed to be, what i'm supposed to be doing, and not knowing where my place is in the greater scheme of things..

...

2009-03-30T20:19:00.001-07:00

i tell myself things like he didn't deserve me anyway and he will miss me when i'm gone, but what i'm really thinking is that i thought we deserved each other and i miss him already.

pipik. pebol. peanut. popoy. audrey.

2009-03-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

just when i thought i was at the brink of insanity, they rescue me. like a bucket of cold water. a kick in the shin. a slap on the face. an incredulous "what were you thinking, A?" i know they indulge my over dramatic whining, but they know it helps me get through the day. slowly. but i'm getting there. where i remember i'm not stupid.

and we start laughing.
so, thank you. :)

answers.

2009-03-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

i have always hated math because everything is so absolute, but right now i would give anything for an equation with only one right answer. clean. complete. finite.

to my future husband -- a prayer

2009-03-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

this is beautiful. a dear friend of mine, chinky, posted this in her blog. she said her eyes welled-up in tears when she read this. well, so did mine.

To My Future Husband
by: Hillary Isaac

I prayed for you this morning.
I have been praying for you for awhile now but stopped
Because I thought I finally met you.
He seemed almost as wonderful as I know you will be
Gentle and loving and caring
He was nearly as adventurous as I know our God made you
For a while his smile was the brightest I'd ever seen
But then I discovered, he simply isn't you.

I have traveled much distance and suffered much pain
I know that if you could, you would have protected me from all this
But our time to meet is not yet now
So in prayers and in faith is where we'll be.
The heartache I went through nearly made me lose my faith
That you might still be out there being fashioned for me
I nearly gave up and thought I could never love again
But He tells me that YOU, yes you are the one.
But our time has not yet come.

I pray for your job, for your health and for your family
I know they are wonderful and loving and funny
That they're nearly as crazy as my own crazy family
And how you all love animals and cooking and traveling
And you will take me to an underwater adventure
Just you and me.
I pray for your walk with our God to be strong
To grow ever deeper and for your faith to be stronger
I pray that your life will be a stellar testimony
To reach those I can't and meet those I won't.

I pray that I keep learning and growing in wisdom
That God continue to mold me and change me
That I might become a godly wife to you
One whose heart is strong and loves fiercely,
Whose trust in her husband is anchored on the Almighty.
I pray for a humble spirit that respects and submits
And covers you in prayer and supports you in everything.

Til the day we are brought together
I will cover you in prayer
And continue to walk this path that He has set out for me
That as I journey to my destiny and fulfill His purpose in me
You and I, in our lives, bring God all the glory.

blah blah blogging yet again

2008-05-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

anyong haseo!!! haha, i'm not korean, but on a recent cebu trip i was mistaken for one. by koreans no less. i was a bit peeved at first, and it started to show, then i felt guilty because they were kinda nice.

going back,
hello.

i was planning to study all summer in preparation for my last 2 semesters in law school and the BIG exam next year, but plans change. i haven't opened a law book since march (suppress panic at this point). no, i haven't been abusing my snooze button, and no, i haven't been pigging out (that's usually what my dad thinks i'm doing.) i was trying to be productive actually.

early april i headed out to manila for the philippine inter-collegiate debate championship (pidc: the sun life cup) staged at the UP diliman campus with a bunch of the xu debate circle members, not to debate, but to shop (kidding) to adjudicate. i was there for a whole week. it was nice seeing debate friends (hey brian d! hey chinky! hey cookie!) and getting back into the whole "debate scene" once again, except that i felt old, and a tad bit silly being there. everyone was so serious, and i was, well, just pretending to be, LOL! it was great though knowing i still had my adjudicating/acting chops intact, and the free coffee didn't hurt either. and i got to visit my friends reviewing for the bar exam this year too. it did cost me some major moolah, but oh well, figured i needed a diversion from the usual home-to-school, school-to-home routine. it was my idea of a vacation. yup, vacationing with haughty, argumentative and opinionated debaters. it was great.

just after a day when i got back to cagayan de oro, i had to leave for davao city. as a project for the mindanao region of FCCY (fil-chinese catholic youth) a bunch of us from cdo together with some fccyers from ozamiz took a 6-hour trip to davao to conduct a youth camp/encounter there-- its a 3-day religious retreat which serves as an entry-point in joining FCCY. the camp site, Christ the King Charismatic Center, was, to put it bluntly, like an old, abandoned public school converted haphazardly into a bootcamp-ish retreat house, that lacked window screens, paint, furniture, and was more abundant in insects, specifically mosquitoes, dust, and pig pen-like, grimey toilets. i'm not complaining. it was perfect. seriously. i always have a deeper appreciation for the stripped-down version of camp facilities as opposed to the hotel-esque ones we usually have in cagayan. in previous camps similar to the one we had in davao, where attendees were forced to be uncomfortable, like the one we had in iligan last year, fewer things take away the emphasis from what's truly important--GOD. so bring on the grime! bring on the dust! bring on the mosquitoes! bring on the pigs! (not really, hehe) because with these, you become more appreciative of the finer things in life as well as focus on GOD more. what i'm saying is, in times like these, i prefer bare necessities as opposed to luxury. grounding is what it does.
and on our last day in davao we were treated to a instant tour of the city. and we did the whole tourist, picture-taking thing despite just the meager hours we had. malling, food-tasting, sight-seeing-- all these were done in a span of, what, 4 hours? our davao hosts were just fun. i miss them! can't wait for them to visit cagayan. "i love you" guys! (hahahaha!)
so, after the whole davao stint, i had to start planning the leadership workshop for the mindanao region of FCCY. slated on may 29th to the 31st, the workshop is a congregation of all the leaders and future leaders of FCCY learning from each other in the hopes of bettering fccy chapters all over mindanao. i'm so excited! not only is cagayan de oro the hosting chapter, i'm excited because we decided to hold it at mapawa nature park. the latter is known for its watering hole, zip-lining, horseback riding, and all that jazz, but, its best kept secret in my opinion is its sweet and cozy bed and breakfast inn that was once the pelaez family ranch. i'm really praying for a huge turnout this year, hoping that people will take advantage of this opportunity because, contrary to cynics who say otherwise, LTWs are not rendered useless. i have high hopes for the leaders this year, and if people have lost hope on the gift that is fccy cdo, they should assess it not for its past mistakes but for how its humbly recovering post conflicts. so my fingers are constantly crossed. and i'm feverishly praying day in and out. "if God led us through it, He'll lead us through it," as peanut would say. and i totally agree. vehemently.

my birthday.

i turned 25. woot woot. its weird if your birthday is sandwiched between your mother's and your sister's, even weirder if both your parents forget your birthday given that, for the past 25 years, your mother has been celebrating it on the 15th, and pebbles has been celebrating on the 17th. so, imagine my protest when for some bizarre reason, BOTH my parents forgot my birthday on the 16th. i think this is attributed to two things: first, the fact that i am 25, and it has been roughly 15 years since they broke out on candles, cake and balloons, and second, due to the unfortunate phenomenon of being in your 50s. all is forgiven though.

so what was i up to on my 25th? nothing much. oh, except for that tiny fact that my hubcaps were stolen and i had to sit in the mall security office for a good 2 hours to deal with a fake-crying 12 year old thief. happy birthday to me. again, all is forgiven.

this year marks ACE IT REVIEW SERVICES' 3rd year in the college entrance test reviewing business. my business partners len and marco and i continued our sure-fire formula of preparing high school students to take that inevitable college entrance exam. hoorah for ace it! and good luck to all the students! (check out http://aceitreviewservices.multiply.com/ )

cebu. my favorite progressive city in the philippines. my dad insisted that we took a trip together as a family. he had a whole spiel prepared--how this trip was probably the last one we will ever make because we were soon gonna get married. jeez. just because pebbles and albert just recently became a couple doesn't mean we girls are soon leaving home. so off we went to cebu. to eat. to shop. and to eat again. cebu will be remembered for island joe, outpost, flame it half pounder burgers, s'barro, IRON MAN, kamekichi ramen, rustan's and achi bea's book, conversations with a fat girl.

and so, the month of april was dedicated to 5 things: (1) pidc, (2) the davao youth camp, (3) my birthday(!), (4) ace it review services, and, (5) our family cebu trip.

now its the merry month of may. ignoring the humid days and the rainy nights, may is turning out to be a quite peachy month. my highschool friend karen just got married. and aimee was home for a few days! yey! karen is the first one by the way, among my close friends in high school to be tying the knot. she and badick have been together for 5 years now, and 4 of those 5 years they've been apart (badick is working in cebu, karen in cagayan de oro. sounds familiar?) the wedding was just sweet. and i am not exaggerating when i say she was the loveliest bride i've seen. i didn't mean to get all sentimental during the ceremony but there i was, with badit and aimee, desperately trying, but miserably failing to hold back tears as karen was walking down the aisle. i am so happy for karen and badick. their love and maturity is so tangible you almost want to get married yourself. which, by the way led me to think about me, my age and yes, marrying. and until now, i'm still thinking. just thinking. in a few years perhaps. :-))

mindanao leadership!!!

2008-05-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

support! :-))

http://superapay.multiply.com/photos/album/23/FCCY_MINDANAO_LEADERSHIP_TRAINING_WORKSHOP#

FCCY Mindanao Leadership Training Workshop

2008-05-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

come and see! email me at aa_uyang@yahoo.com

Mindanao Region Updates

2008-04-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

sunny smiles all the way from mindanao! hahaha, i feel stupid after saying that. :-)) ok, so, i just wanted to share to everyone what your mindanao friends have been doing (apart from complying with perry's request to post an update.) last april 11, 12 and 13, monique (regional steward for mindanao), moy2x, ijae, mark, ryan and kerwin (ozamiz fccyers) along with peanut, audrey and i (fccy cdo) travelled 6 hours to davao city to facilitate a joint youth camp for fccyers from davao and cotabato. the camp was staged in an unassuming, boot camp-ish retreat house, Christ the King Charismatic Center. there were 13 participants in all, and a couple of other attendees from the davao chapter-- reinna, pau!, clarisza, ronna, val, france, glenda, kokay, jenie, jainnie, kyra and CA, and the cotabato girls-- sister lourdes, honey, april and iris. moves were made for the davao chapter to organize its governing body composed of the different ministries, and many thanks to God, a new core council was formed, with Reinna Ang as the new Spiritual Ministry Steward, Kyra Tan as the Assistant, along with the different leaders per ministry-- Pau Te for Love and Fellowship, Justin Ching for Music with CA Ang as Assistant, Nika Tan for Finance, Ronna Ang for Liturgy, and Clarisza Tan as Chapter Secretary. We are really optimistic that the Mindanao Leadership Workshop will be well-attended this year. so keep on praying people! to see pictures of this event, visit the following links:

http://superapay.multiply.com/photos/album/20/FCCY_youth_camp_davao_april11-13_2008?replies_read=16
http://niqgirl21.multiply.com/photos/album/72
wishing everyone continuous blessings from above! :-))

His,
apay

juno.

2008-02-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

i was just floored by this movie. honest to blog. Ellen Page is phenomenal as Juno, a witty 16 year old forced to grow up hyper-speed because of a pregnancy induced by her adorable best friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) the latter oozing with undisguised naïveté. Bleeker is likewise 16 years old, a marathon runner, who uses color-safe bleach to preserve the golden glow of his running shorts,eats red tic tacs for breakfast, and who's the "coolest person juno's ever met, he doesn't have to try." the screenplay by Diablo Cody is just whip-smart, but who better to pull-off an exponentially cool Juno than the one-time x-men shadowcat Ellen Page? the opening exchange between Juno and Rollo, the convenience store guy (played by Rainn Wilson, Dwight, from The Office) might overwhelm you a bit, but the dialogue is so funny that its easy to overlook the exaggeration, the self-conscious, over-cleverness of it all, and just appreciate it for what it is--a totally well written, smart script that wouldn't work if it weren't for the well-acted parts-- the dry humor of Jason Bateman, the realistic interpretation of Jennifer Garner as mom "desperately seeking spawn" (her one dimensional acting in previous films weirdly suited her here), the spot-on performance by "Junebug's" dad, JK Simmons, not to mention Juno's stepmom, character actress Allison Janney, the experienced indie-direction of Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking), Michael Cera's credible performance as Bleeker, and of course, the Academy nomination-worthy performance of Ellen Page. although, this movie did have its flaws--how it force-dealt with the topic of abortion in a pro-adulthood way wouldn't sit well with the conservatives, especially since the adoption option, though well-meant, wasn't necessarily a consciously thought-out choice. plus, it makes you wonder about present-day high school dynamics. how in the world could Juno possibly manage to keep her self-confident wit despite typical high school trauma, you'd ask, i mean she's not THAT smart. but, Ellen Page's interpretation of Juno is successful in a way most movies centered on a character only dream of achieving--over and above Juno's brazen smarts, you can see through the nuances of her character. she manages to add emotional layers--balancing between her "flippant, wised-up facade" and the fact that she isn't quite as "smart or as capable as she thinks she is." the fact that she's not really that confident about "the ways of the world" peeks through her performance--a message some people might confuse to be the correct one. JUNO will most likely impress moviegoers recently exposed to the likes of Sidney White or Alvin and the Chipmunks (as i have been.) ask me if its worth watching this film? thundercats are definitely go.

survey. narcissistic things.

2008-02-04T17:22:00.001-08:00

[001.] Change your eye color, what color would they be?:
* blue-black. is there such a thing? :-))

[002.] Have any hair color in the world, which color?:
* midnight black. no reds and greens for me. i am so not adventurous.

[003.] Instantly be fluent in one language, which language and why?:
* mandarin for its practicality, french for its impracticality.

[004.] Instantly be able to play an instrument, which instrument and why?:
* the chelo. because when you tip it to the side, chelo? you gotta bass!

[005.] Get any job in the world and be good at it too, which job would it be?:
* cnn correspondent. shoe designer. chef.

[006.] Live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
* anywhere that's on the top 10 happiest-people places list.

[007.] Join any band, which band would it be?
* tough. dave matthews'?

[008.] Have any superpower, what would it be and why?
* stop time. by the click of my ruby slippers.

[009.] Summon up one of your favorite memories, which one would it be?
* can i summon up a fake one instead?

[010.] Magically alter any aspect of your appearance without any pain whatsoever, what would you do?
* tricky. shrink me up a bit?

[011.] Eliminate one bug from the planet, which one and why?
* can't. "pledge of commitment to a litter-free corpus christi" still ringing in my ears.

[012.] Bring any TV shows that went off the air back, which ones would you bring back?
* sex and the city. zelda.

[013.] You were president, what changes would you make to your country?
* pull a lee kuan yew.

[014.] Could become an animal, which animal would you be?
* i love pandas but i don't think i'd wanna be one because of their lack of survival instincts. an armadillo? kidding.

[015.] Eliminate any class from your schedule, which would it be and why?
* won't.

[016.] Eliminate one season, which one and why?:
* won't as well. :-)) love the sun! love the rain! typhoon season i guess... is there such a thing?

[017.] Improve one of your five senses, which one would you improve?
* sight. hands down.

[018.] Instantly become famous, what would you want to be famous for?
* for my spirit? :-))

[019.] Change your name, what would you change it to?
* er, madison? i don't know.

[020.] Paint your room, what colors would it be?
* colors that "hurt the eyes" according to my mum. or maybe just white.

[021.] Be an instant millionaire, what would you do with the money?
* keep some, spend some, give some.

[022.] Meet any famous person, who would you meet?
* oprah winfrey - only if it falls on her "favorite things" show. if not, kofi annan.

[023.] Master one school subject, which subject would you choose and why?
* needing divine intervention, i'd say taxation.

[024.] Visit any planet, no matter how far or how bad living conditions are, which would you visit?
* saturn!

[025.] Spend an unlimited amount of money in any one store, which store would it be?
* zara. or mango. or the supermarket!

[026.] Go back to one of your younger ages, what age would you be again and why?
* 9. grade three.

[027.] Get one piercing and/or tattoo
without any pain, what would you get?
* i don't mind tattooes, but piercings i don't find appealing.

eep.

2008-01-29T21:00:00.001-08:00

there's only so much secret signs you can give out to a person before other people start getting weird on you.

mere anticipation.

2008-01-29T17:49:00.000-08:00

labels. just when i've made it my unofficial life's mission to combat women stereotypes, i fall into my own trap. i am flat-out kitschy. inexplicably emotional. deliriously happy. ok, so the latter description doesn't only apply to women, but i am, weirdly enough, very happy lately. and its the eye-ticking, neurotic kinda happy, the kind of happy you get when you think God is playing a joke on you and you're laughing along. crazy-woman happy, you know? BUT, it's not because my life is handing out presents, nor is it because i have tons of obvious reasons to celebrate life, to throw confetti and dance like a dervish--i don't--and that's precisely why! i am crazy-happy because i know that eventually, after digging through the muck i'm in, after wading through this never-ending abyss of "why me?" garbage, i will prevail. i can just imagine myself jumping out and celebrating. and THAT, makes all the difference. i can't wait. just imagining the inevitable triumph is enough to make me the happiest camper. and i'm NEVER optimistic. so clearly, this is a deviation from the usually sane and lucid me. i am digressing. and i pray it's in a good way!

P.S.

i'm sorry i can't write in specifics. because i think if i did, you would NOT believe what i'm rambling about. trust me. it would be the last thing you'd associate with me. maybe not THE last, last, but it's definitely remote. im blabbing. sorry.

warning: might be the hormones speaking

2008-01-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

right now, i should be doing something else. like writing WYD endorsement letters for example. or finishing the moot competition rules. i'm doing neither. what i am doing is wasting my time, pining over other things.. christmas has almost lost its sparkle. the new year has just begun. and me? i am stuck in a rut. i seriously think somebody should bop me in the head real hard. i am failing miserably in the test of life and i doubt whether i can ever dust myself off and say things will get better. i feel so empty although i know i'm filled. i feel so sad when i have every reason to be happy. i feel so hopeless when everything around me screams optimism. every night i pray.. but i don't exactly know what to pray for. sometimes i pray for guidance. other times it's enlightenment. sometimes joy. sometimes hope. mostly, i pray for courage.

little tree

2007-12-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

little tree
by e.e. cummings

little tree

little silent Christmas tree

you are so little

you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest

and were you very sorry to come away?

see i will comfort you

because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark

and hug you safe and tight

just as your mother would,

only don't be afraid

look the spangles

that sleep all the year in a dark box

dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,

the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms

and i'll give them all to you to hold

every finger shall have its ring

and there won't a single place dark or unhappy

then when you're quite dressed

you'll stand in the window for everyone to see

and how they'll stare!

oh but you'll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands

and looking up at our beautiful tree

we'll dance and sing

"Noel Noel"

wishing one and all the happiest holidays and a blessed, meaningful new year filled with LOVE.. :-))

i carry your heart

2007-12-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

i carry your heart with me
ee cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it(anywhere i go you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling

i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)
i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

2007-11-22T03:42:00.000-08:00

everything seems so grey and gloomy.

but i'm so happy i think my heart is just about to burst. :-))

shhh...

2007-11-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

secrets.

everyone has them.

question is, who are you keeping yours from?

you are the weakness in me

2007-10-29T01:27:00.000-07:00

this is a beautiful, sad song of love and duplicity... truthful, raw and unsettling. reminds me a little of a modern-day bridges of madison county story... without having made the choice in the end. proving love has many facets. check out the live cover version by melissa etheridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL83Z0YTj4g

The Weakness In Me
Joan Armatrading

I'm not the sort of person who falls in and quickly out of love
But to you, I give my affection, right from the start.
I have a lover who loves me - how could I break such a heart?
Yet still you get my attention.

Why do you come here, when you know I've got troubles enough?
Why do you call me, when you know I can't answer the phone?
And make me lie when I don't want to,
And make someone else some kind of an unknowing fool?
Make me stay when I should not?
If you're so strong then resolve the weakness in me.
Why do you come here, and pretend to be just passing by?
I need to see you - I need to hold you - tightly.

Feeling guilty,
And I'm worried, and I'm waking from a tormented sleep
'Cause this old love, you know it has me bound,
But this new love cuts so deep.
If I choose now, I'm bound to lose out;
One of you is gonna have to fall...
I need you, baby.

Why do you come here, when you know I've got troubles enough?
Why do you call me, when you know I can't answer the phone?
And make me lie when I don't want to,
And make someone else some kind of an unknowing fool?
Make me stay when I should not?
If you're so strong then resolve the weakness in me.
Why do you come here, and pretend to be just passing by?
I need to see you - I need to hold you - tightly.

dare to live it.

2007-10-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

unbeknownst to me, i have become such a homebody over the past years.

save for a few out of town trips here and there, dinners and coffee dates, there is a staggering lack of, um, adventure. i have fallen quite comfortably into that eat-sleep-sleep-eat routine...

except that there is a miasma of discontent that occasionally nudges my ever so complacent and lazy brain, urging me to DO. do what? when sleeping late and waking up late seems so convenient a set-up lately. i think there will always come a point in everyone's life when the old cliché "live your life to the fullest" haunts you, challenges you, even invades your dreams. i think that time has about come up for me. soooooo, i've decided, to make a list (oooh, i love making lists!) owing to my hesitance to get up off my lazy ass, this is the best i can do so far. doing comes next. and boy will it be hard.

*ehem*

THE "LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST" LIST
Things to do before I turn 30, or maybe 40, no 50, or before I die.

go on vacation. backpack through europe. or phuket. or india. or moscow. wherever. go on a pilgrimage. see jerusalem. pray more. be at the 2008 world youth day in australia.
get my blackbelt.
throw theme parties for friends. or costume parties. cook everything myself.
learn to swim. seriously.
always insist on karaoke.
hug a panda.
skydive. no bungee jumping for me.
learn to speak mandarin. french or spanish.
be more spontaneous. leave without packing. just follow my internal compass.
appear in a film. being an extra counts.
get published.
settle a score.
heal a hurt.
steal a heart.
stalk a celebrity.
display more skin.
fight for a cause.
teach someone illiterate to read.
be an audience member of jay leno. or ellen. or the buzz.
learn to surf. after i learn how to swim, ofcourse.
attract a following.
be someone's mentor.
befriend my neighbors.
plant a tree.
write THE fan letter to an idol.
make a closing speech in front of a jury.
design shoes.
ride a canoe in the middle of a solitary, dreamy lake. bring a book. persuasion.
visit new zealand. move there for a year.
learn to play a musical instrument without embarrassing john.
visit disneyland.
learn to whistle.
be the designated driver on a looooong road trip.
buy my own house. spend on the kitchen and bathrooms.
sing a great song in front of an audience.
go up in a hot air balloon.
start a business. a serious one this time.
buy something designer.
travel to africa. volunteer.
exercise more.
attend one really huge rock concert. U2. or coldplay. or woodstock.
give to a charity -- anonymously.
become a millionaire.
bake bread.
learn a sport. soccer. or fencing.
watch more espn. and cnn.
become a lawyer. (please be soon.)
smile more.
eat healthy.

and...

master html. and photoshop.
finish sir ralph's book list.
get over my fear of birds. (this i can put off a bit later.)
cut my hair really short. a bob. *eep*
learn somersaults.
make homemade christmas cards again.
learn to sculpt.
sing at my sisters' wedding. have them sing at mine.
live out truth.

celebrity crushes (it's the insanity kicking in)

2007-09-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

ladies, all together now! *sigh!* i must say this post is the product of a very stressed out me. ever since the midterm exams ended, (way to harsh one's mellow those exams)and now that the finals are creeping up, i haven't quite adjusted to all the insane juggling i've been doing. so, what better way to 'degunk' your brain than to swoon over eye candy? :-)) at the risk of john gagging at the sight of this post, and of my sisters' wrath in my taking wenty for myself, here are my top 3 celebrity crushes as of late. not in any order, though james has been on my mind these past few days, and wenty has been edging the others in the past. bear with the sticky goo. and the drool you're slipping into. yup, mine.

i think i will be forever in love with wentworth miller. seriously. he is gorgeous to a fault. when he first appeared in that mariah video, i was a goner. when i started watching prisonbreak early this year, i was fast hooked, no, obsessed! the plot might be a little er, embellished, the characters a tad unbelievable, but hell, if you have wentworth miller onscreen, who cares about the death of the vice-president's brother and the entire circus of a government conspiracy? all the sound clips of him singing for the princeton tigertones, all the wentworth images google could possibly supply, all the fan sites there ever was put up in worship of him, could never suffice my insatiable awe of his good looks.

james, james, james, what will i do with you? you're too cute for words. after youtube-ing all your interviews, memorizing your lines in becoming jane, daydreaming about being jane austen and you being my thom lafroy, of swooning over how an incredible actor you've become, how good you were in the last king of scotland, starter for ten, and in shakespeare retold, how fetching you were even as a faun in narnia, i refuse to believe that there could ever be james mcavoy overload! i cannot wait to see him in atonement. so looking forward to another sob-fest!

orlando dear, my heart skips a beat every time you pop up on screen, darling. just when i think i'm over you there you go making your gorgeous self available! i was ogling at the perfect specimen that you are the entire time i was watching elizabethtown, virtually keeling over every time you appeared in the lord of the rings, and was just stunned while watching pirates and troy.

so there. my apologies for this cheesy post. i can't help it! i am a sucker for hot guys and all the more for their geeky soft side (N.B. wentworth miller in the short-lived tv series popular--gay cheerleader, i swear). for those who share the same enthusiasm for these hotties, enjoy!

being inchik

2007-08-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

picture this—as i type, i’m sitting in a corner at a local coffee shop when an annoying mobile phone sounds off its typical Nokia ring. perhaps oblivious to its noise, the owner, an old Chinese man, with silvery white hair, age spots on his wrinkled face, wearing a pale blue polo and a dark pair of pleated shorts, continues to chomp on his croissant while he idly flips through his Chinese newspaper, seemingly ignoring the loud noise, all this while he nonchalantly wiggles his toes, the sole of his bare right foot staring at me from across the room as he sits cross-legged on the yellow couch. it takes a couple of obnoxious rings before he slowly takes out his phone, fumbles with it, and bellows into its mouthpiece “hehloh? HEHLOH? HEHLOH???” in a manner so thick with a Chinese accent i could not help but smile a little. he reminds me of a grandpa i’m sure i’ve met. of course, the other patrons were so annoyed at this especially the guy sitting in the table next to mine who was apparently reviewing for some nursing exam, NCLEX or something like that. i don’t blame them for being annoyed. i suspect, they might even be thinking that all the attitude the old man was displaying was borne out of “Chinese arrogance,” a term coined by a professor of mine who quite obviously has a thing against Chinese. which led me to ask myself, if this were any other old man, not Chinese, would people be as annoyed? perhaps he was “arrogant” the way people sometimes get when they’ve accumulated enough wealth to just sit around in some coffee shop they most probably own out of 20 other coffee shops in the city. but, maybe, just maybe, the old guy was just a little deaf like most old men are… perhaps he doesn’t realize that his voice was a few decibels higher than normal talking volume. i looked at him as he carried on a very loud conversation with the person at the other end of the line while they were conversing in straight Chinese. others could not understand this. or refuse to. to them, they probably think that this man was a rich man, exercising the unofficial title that he has in usurping other people’s private time or NCLEX studying. but to me, to me who has become more Filipino than I could have ever consciously allowed, he was just another old man… who was entitled to some leniency because he is old, or he might not be used to operating a technological device such as a cell phone just yet, or plainly just because he was hard of hearing.

all my life I have been surrounded by a vast majority of Filipinos, studying with them, eating with them, being friends with them, growing up with them… i NEVER thought of them as different from me, never consciously thought of them as "Filipinos". most of my best friends in high school weren't Chinese,( although one looked the part--hi aims!) but i never felt as if i were out of place. chinky even quipped in one of our conversations before that i was so “Pinoy,”—must be my jokes—and it’s true. but sometimes, not very often, i get caught in half-second awkward moments with people while they absently say something mildly offensive to Chinese… a joke perhaps, or a comment; the way it feels wrong to mention the word “tambok” to a fat person, is the same effect these comments have when they say “inchik” to my face. it’s not the comment per se, it’s the look they have on their face, a guilty look, after they realize that yes, I am “inchik”. i don’t mind mostly, as i have grown accustomed to comments like these, and they usually ARE funny, but you can separate the chaff from the insult, and the latter hurts. it disturbs me that no matter how people commingle and coexist and declare our world to be one without borders, a tiny part of me feels alienated in a place where it’s supposedly home… which brings me to another realization—although I have become “Pinoy” in so many ways, i am, and will always be proud to be Chinese. even if i am far from being the poster girl for Chinese culture, as i can only mumble a few Chinese words in response to a straight Chinese question, and have the ability to eat with chopsticks as that of a tourist, but still, i will forever nurture the part of me that makes me who i am--i am a fumbling, mumbling, negosyo-oriented, yellow-skinned, clannish, family-centered, hardworking, meticulous, stubborn, dependable INCHIK.

weekend countdown

2007-06-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

its thursday! which only means one thing--soon enough it'll be friday, and then, saturday!!! before you can say how you can totally relate with how i feel, stop. i am not looking forward to the weekend for the same reasons you are, trust me. i look forward to it so can i write my school notes. yup, write my SCHOOL notes. i know, i'm weird. but don't be freaked out just yet, i look forward to reading my romance novels and chick lit as well, organizing my school supplies, flagging my books with post its, placing sticker labels on my books---still weird? i'm just kidding, tomorrow i have a date with the debating circle, meeting with my CLEP class, then a movie and dinner date with picky and rachelle after, med juris class on saturday, lunch with flits, and ace it review services to attend to on saturday evening and whole day sunday... i guess what i'm driving at is, i'm looking forward to being um, busy? :)

so not cool.

2007-06-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

school has barely started and already i'm drowning two cups of coffee daily, sleeping way too late and waking up way too early, not to mention growing a humongous pimple on my left cheek. "mata sa talu-to" as john puts it. talk about stress! i won't be surprised if i develop a nervous tick soon just by sitting 4 nights a week in judge paderanga's criminal law review class. i'm sure it won't be long until i start leaving my hair unwashed again and not shaving for a week--oops, over-share. anyway, times are busy, busy, busy i feel like a bee. everyday i rush off to class gasping for air, carrying a load of books, and every night i come home with a deluge, a barrage of homework to do! but i love it. i love school! hell, i love the stress! its so not cool, its insane.

rooster's nest

2007-06-12T00:52:00.000-07:00

i just got back from a 3-day trip to iligan. expected nothing special about it, it was just one of our usual fccy mission trips (where we conduct youth camps/encounters for other fccy chapters in the mindanao region) though we haven't done one in a while, still there was really nothing to it if you've done it a couple of times before. audrey, perry, win2 and i took the 8:20am bus to iligan and then a cab to rooster's nest, pugaan. when we got off the cab, instantly, i loved how rustic everything was--the sight of the muddy road, how muddy my crocs became, backpacking to the farm, seeing the quaint cottage, the screen windows & doors, the creek, the coconut trees, the barking dogs running around, the fresh air, bare feet--the farm was perfect! except for the obvious--rooster's nest ain't called rooster's nest for nuthin'. i hate, hate, hated the chickens roaming around. and there were a lot. like an invasion there was. after a while, with all the "mind over matter" conditioning i had to do, i managed to "ignore" them uglies. a little before lunch on friday, the 8th, the participants started to pour in, the ozamiz fccyers led by monique arrived, and the familiar feeling of serving God came back... it was so easy once you fall into rythm--singing, worshiping, dancing, laughing--and all for the Lord. but i was wrong in thinking this camp wouldn't be special. it was spectacular. how 24 people managed to bathe with only 1 bathroom even added to how great everything was! God is truly awesome. the iligan boys (patrick, amil, loven and jamile) were very helpful and willing to do everything (ok, so maybe this was partly attributed to the fact that they were scared of me, hehehe) and monique, ijae, ryan, mario, zynth, and renea were such great help. everyone willingly had Confession. every talk was backed up by solid prayers from our prayer warriors,i mean, the entire rosary was said everytime! it felt like a "young" camp--one where everyone was still unsure of everything yet we all knew everything would just come out right by God's loving grace. and sure enough, everything did. it didn't matter that we weren't always on time, or that we lacked a few materials, or that some of us hadn't bathed--kidding, we just made by. i realized so much truth from this experience, but i'll just sum it up to three--

1. when you surrender to God, ANYTHING is possible--even praising in mandarin when you don't even know how to speak fookien;

2. when you finally decide to confess after 3 years, it doesn't mean relief is the automatic feeling--instead, you may feel as if God is telling you, "i have long forgiven you, and have just been waiting for you to admit you're wrong."--and its a better feeling;

3. our God is ONE AWESOME GOD.

2007-06-04T09:42:00.001-07:00

i kinda regret linking this blog to my multiply account.. it now seems lost..

my celebrity look-alikes

2007-06-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

2007-05-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

"There's no point to any of this. It's all just a... a random lottery of meaningless tragedy and a series of near escapes. So I take pleasure in the details. You know... a quarter-pounder with cheese, those are good, the sky about ten minutes before it starts to rain, the moment where your laughter become a cackle... and I, I sit back and I smoke my Camel Straights and I ride my own melt."

-troy dyer (reality bites)

being meredith grey.

2007-05-21T04:33:00.000-07:00

for lack of anything better to do today, i took a cheesy online test to see which grey's anatomy character i was. i turned out to be a meredith. and i don't like meredith that much. was looking forward to being a miranda bailey. no such luck. i haven't decided whether it's a good think or a bad thing. 'coz i can't tell if it's true.

"Wow, you're Dr. Meredith Grey! "
Always at the heart of it all, it's a good thing you're a real peacemaker, just like your Grey's Anatomy match, Dr. Meredith Grey. Caring and giving, you enjoy taking time out to help other people, even if you've got a few complications of your own, and that's what makes you a real life saver. You've obviously got a lot on your plate, but you still have the skills and the drive to succeed. Keep your chin up, and remember - you're the star!

riiiiiight.

still here.

2007-04-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

hi everyone,

i apologize for the hiatus.

i have been very busy. so busy that summer is almost over and i'm still struggling over last march's final exams. but i'm happy-busy. after i got back from hk i had a couple of days to do my laundry and study for an exam. when the holy week started rolling in, i was busy preparing for ace it review services, the fccy convention and my corpo. final exam. flew to manila then back, then to cebu. took the last of my finals then concentrated on the business (ace it), and practice court's court observations. all this while finishing 3 seasons of grey's anatomy on dvd, the 7 chronicles of narnia books and neil gaiman's sandman series. i wish i could say this has been a productive summer but i'm too busy to evaluate just yet.

General Ready: guilty.

2007-03-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

finally, after months of agonizing over a good defense for General Ready, the fictional character we were tasked to defend for the moot court competition, he was, in the end, adjudged guilty.

but of course, this was not our fault. we were not the counsels for the defense during the final round. weirdly enough, although that might have been a good thing considering we are not to blame for his eventual conviction, this means that we didn't get into the championship round as we so dearly hoped.

i might as well start from the beginning.

day 1, march 14, 2007- cdo and manila

i should have taken a cue from the events that took place that morning. i woke up at 5am to the sound of my younger sister, peanut, gargling. yes, GARGLING. she was making these weird snore-like sounds, the kind of sounds a 50-year old obese guy would make while in REM state.

she was having a seizure.

and so started a really crazy day. my pop had to rush her to the hospital while i debated whether or not i should proceed preparing for my 7 am flight. i barely made it to the airport, as i was the last person to board. all the while i worried over my sis, as her seizure meant something might be seriously wrong with her brain, or something like that.. after an eeg and ct scan, the brain-doctor-mister-man said she was fine, but we had to be watchful. this, based only on text messages and calls from my dad and my cousin pickle.

the rest of the day was a blur.. briefing at the icrc headquarters in makati, studying in the hotel room, watching american idol and grey's anatomy on cable, dinner with garrett and macel.. all the while not trusting the way i felt about not being home and not being sure for myself whether peanut was really ok coupled with the thought of leaving for hongkong the next day to a competition i wasn't entirely sure about..

day 2, march 15, 2007--arrival in hongkong

hongkong is breathtaking. not in the usual clean and green kind of way, but in the way you would think when you literally see a sleeping giant. at first you feel slightly afraid, hesitant, a sense of unfamiliarity creeping up, but at the same time the sight just awes you so much that for a moment you forget that what you are actually seeing is for real. i remember my dad telling me about his trip to hongkong in the eighties, he said the philippines was waaay prosperous than hongkong and mainland china. people were still driving around in bikes and wearing uber conservative clothes. if i remember correctly, he used the word "backward". my dad would've bitten his tongue if he had seen how hongkong was today.

so the rest of the day was spent taking pictures, ogling at buildings, cooing over mini-buses and doubledeckers and just plainly absorbing it all in.

day 3, march 16, 2007--general rounds

the morning was spent on scoping out the competition. after breakfast at the hotel we went via bus and twisty roads to hongkong university (or was it university of hongkong?) anyway, the view was just gorgeous, the air divine, the campus stood atop a hill and you could almost see a slight wisp of a fog, the air more palatable, breathable.

we went up against the malaysians in the first round. they were fairly adequate, and i enjoyed the match thoroughly. it was like practice, shaking off our nerves and loosening 'em moot muscles. we had really good judges, one was a former counsel and advocate for the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia. the next match was tougher and more enjoyable (for garrett anyway, wink2) and we were pitted against the new zealand team. they were such fun! very cool. like gwen stefani cool. they weren't hoity toity or anything like that. all in all we made great friends with the other delegates and being oh so pinoy posed in a lot of pictures with them. by the time they announced the top 3 respondent teams who qualified for the next day, our smiles couldn't grow any bigger. university of dhaka, university of hongkong and xavier university made it as respondents, while australia, new zealand and city university of hongkong qualified as applicants. that ended our 3rd day.

day 4,march 17, 2006--semifinal round, the finals and dinner at victoria's peak

we couldn't contain our excitement. the finals series was to be held at the hongkong high court (the hongkong equivalent of the supreme court) and we were to speak in front of justices and learned professors who specialize in ihl from various parts of the world. we were ready.

the events that ensued i will never forget. we performed our best moot ever (picture jeanny holding back proud momma tears while the match was going on.) we decided that whatever happened, we would be happy anyway. so when they announced that university of hongkong was to proceed instead of either the philippines or dhaka, i was ok with that. i was relieved, thankful even. i thought that out of the three teams, they were most probably the best, having been rated by their set of judges higher than the other two qualified teams. there ws no way of knowing because they didn't disclose the scores and they didn't have a match to see who was the better respondent team. so we complied. smiled. laughed. until the final round.

down in the dumps

2007-03-06T04:38:00.000-08:00

this whole moot court thing is really taking its toll on me.. wearing me down.. preparing for hongkong started out really great, fun actually, and i always looked forward to meeting up with the team, to discuss the issues of the case. over time however, after dealing with solicitation problems, an absentee coach, insensitive professors, and the sheer difficulty of coming up with a solid defense for General Ready, somehow, in place of the love i have for mooting, i now feel a sense of obligation.. not just to do well, but to win. everybody expects us to win! what's worse, if we come home empty-handed, everyone will have forgotten about Nationals and how we won, and we will just be a bunch of losers.. and it wouldn't matter anymore that we tried our best.. oh but try our best is all we've been doing.. and i sincerely hope everybody will see that even if we do lose. i never want to sound ungrateful, especially after having been given this truly amazing opportunity to go out of the country for free, to represent the Philippines, to do our city proud.. but right now, i can't help feeling burdened, inadequate, and downright sad. i'm sad. i have sacrificed a lot already, missing classes, not being able to catch-up with the work load in school, doing mediocre recitations, testing certain professors' patience with my "invalid" excuses.. i can't afford to suck in hongkong.. but the perennial question would be, "what if i do suck?"

whatever

2007-02-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

i was thinking, and i realized there is absolutely no depth to this blog, hahahaha! who cares right? i'm just looking for a venue to vent anyway, hehehe... superficial is my new middlename! so to continue the nonsensical streak of posts, *ehem ehem*-- tadaah! :-))

moot court memorial

2007-02-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

after weeks and weeks of knee-deep research and reading, of editing and non-stop discussions, we finally finished our entry to the international moot court competition on international humanitarian law. although it brought us great relief to finally be able to mail our memorial, and on time, we knew it was just but the quarter of the actual legwork we needed to do to prepare for the competition. i haven't been able to sleep much these past few nights, what with stressing over the memorial and all, but it was all worth it. the end result of our memorial was a product of both hardwork and great love. it wasn't perfect, but to us who wrote it, every word of that 9-page pleading reflected weeks of hopeful, optimistic dedication. way to go team! :-))

celery pilaf

2007-02-05T02:27:00.000-08:00

some of you might know this already, i love to cook. i don't claim to be an expert, i just love the fact that cooking is always a happy endeavor. its colorful, creative and extremely gratifying. i'd like to share a recipe i know of a simple rice dish i've been cooking since i was 10. its one of the first things i learned how to make alongside spaghetti and leche flan. i have since lost the original copy of this recipe and have been eyeballing it ever since, so for purposes of sharing it with you, i'm charting down rough estimates. you can make other rice dishes like this one, i've ventured into mushroom pilaf, curry rice and even bagoong rice. hope you enjoy this!

LEMON CELERY PILAF

ingredients:
3 cups uncooked rice
4 and a half cups of chicken stock (you can use water)
1/3 -1/2 cup of butter
a stalk of celery, chopped
teaspoonful of minced garlic
sprig of parsley
lemon rind/zest
salt and pepper

melt butter in a pot, sauté garlic until golden, not brown. add in the celery, stir say for a minute or two. add in the rice, mixing it with the butter, add in a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. actually make that two pinches of salt. stir. slowly pour in the water or the chicken stock. adjust the amount of salt you add in case your stock is already salted. cover the pot. once the liquid starts to boil, stir the rice a bit to even out the cooking. cover and reduce the flame. once the rice cooks, fluff in the parsley and lemon. tadaaah! easy huh? happy eating!

:-))

a reflection

2007-01-30T16:58:00.000-08:00

i've read somewhere that we live in a pathologically dissatisfied world. shamefully, i am one persistently discontented individual. as a testament to this is my incessant tendency to complain. mostly about the stuff i do. last monday, i had to take two exams successively because of a conflict in exam schedule. added to that, i had an exam the next day and the day after that. four exams in a row. i had been grumbling about it since friday all throughout the weekend. although i spent most of saturday night studying, by the time monday rolled in, i had neither mastered anything on banking laws nor anything on the rules of court. i had been doing nothing better but cursing my way through both exams. i really felt bad, i wanted to do well enough to pass, so my professors wouldn't think that i'm taking it easy because of the upcoming moot court thing. throughout the entire monday afternoon, i was complaining--like i was in some "complain-athon". i kept on bitching about how hard the exam was, how utterly useless it was for me to have taken the exam, what a waste of time all this had been, blah blah blah (i think you get the picture.) so i was complaining non-stop until i saw kc's face (not her real name.) kc is a classmate of mine and she has always been good at absorbing all the negative energy i've been throwing her way. she comes from bukidnon and stays at a boarding house a few blocks from school. we were on the same boat when it came to the barrage of multiple exams. but the look on her face stopped me mid-sentence in my complaining fits. we were on our way out of the campus when she began telling me about her weekend. she left for her hometown early sunday because it was her dad's 6oth birthday. that didn't leave her with enough time to study as she did all that she could saturday. risking her father's disappointment, she asked if she could leave the celebration early so she could have time to rest and study for our exams. she took a bus for cagayan at around 1 o'clock in the afternoon. she then boarded a cab at the terminal. exhausted, she didn't notice that she had inadvertently left her wallet upon alighting. the next few hours were spent looking for her wallet--she had to go back to the bus terminal and ask each of the taxi drivers if she could inspect their vehicles. she had to go to sleazy, dingy bars and nightclubs looking for the owner of the cab. she didn't go home until 11pm. to top it all off, she resumed her search the next day! talk of resilience. so, unable to study, she hurdled the exams head-on without complaining.

without complaining.

this totally shamed me.

help me

2007-01-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

i need a job.

ok, so maybe i don't NEED a job, but i kinda want one. my schedule has been really erratic lately, a few days clumped together with absolutely nothing to do, but the next thing you know, a barrage of demanding days comes along leaving me sleep-deprived, greasy-faced, and with unwashed hair. i think a job would be good for me, one that's predictable, scheduled, monotous. something constant. but ofcourse i don't need it like forever, a few weeks maybe? just for the stability.

looks

2007-01-22T21:03:00.000-08:00

love 'em.
the kate moss ones are old, the bcbg one just came out.
have a few pieces that echo these, but i'm still contemplating whether i should invest in a dark pair of skinny jeans. maybe i'll start with a crisp, new, white shirt.

updates

2007-01-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

start of the year people! sorry it took me a while to post anything new. so, what have i been up to? well, nothing worth celebrating, just the usual back to school stuff a.k.a. pimple-inducing activities. i just finished taking the first of a series of midterm exams, so to grieve about how difficult it was, i'm wasting my time away snooping at other people's friendster profiles, you tube-ing wentworth miller, watching sana maulit muli (weirdly addicting), taking pictures with our new camera, and google-ing random things like "steve carell" and "google".

again, i apologize for the hiatus from blogging (ok, so this apology might just be addressed to phantom readers, but that's ok. :-)) ) the lull was due to my sheer will to hang on to the christmas break for as long as i could ( they had to take down the christmas tree while i was away so i wouldn't have the chance to object.) what can i say? i love christmas, its nostalgia 24/7. what with presents and non-stop parties and holiday shopping and christmas carols and midnight mass.. i really appreciate how it is when christmas starts rolling in and people begin to fly in to cagayan de oro for the break. it was fun to see the old high school gang again, all grown up, well mostly grown up. :-)) its nice to know how friends remain as the constant in your life, how time stands still when you get together, and how awfully fun videoke is. i also had dinners with some fccy buddies i haven't been with for a while (hi nat, rache). over-all christmas was great.

2006 holiday wishlist

2006-12-19T00:29:00.000-08:00

finally! my favorite time of the year. the very prospect of indulging my materialistic side (albeit theoretical only) just sends me happy goosebumps! however, i am never a big spender. i only shop at discounts and flea places. at most, i love to "window shop" online.

so, this is my christmas wishlist. nothing too over-the-top, just a few wants and must-have essentials for your everyday fashionista.

(10) a slouchy, butter-soft leather bag.

i have been forever lusting for a one-of-a kind, functional yet fashionable bag. nothing too loud. something that goes with everything. i found one online, one by giorgio brato ( featured), hence, its real expensive. hey, its not a wishlist if im not still wishing is it?

(9) ballet flats.

and they have to be ultra comfy. they go well with skinny jeans and a victorian blouse tamed by a structured jacket. ( featured from left--> gap ballet flats, cindy says "bashful" ballet flats, sue london foldable ballet flats)

(8) the new i-pod nano in red.

enough said.

(7) an awesome pair of booty lifting jeans.

back then, i thought this was an urban fashion myth. while flipping through the august issue of instyle however, there they were. jeans with little to no yokes, large pockets, strategically placed stitching and a variety of fabrics infused in the denim. also, they come in a wide range of styles--wide-legged, skinny, all-around flattering etc. (favorites--> joe's jeans, juicy couture, and rock and republic.)

(6) an upgraded vest.

i found a black, lacey one in freeway but it was a bit garrish. the ones bayo sells are a bit loose. so, im still searching for the perfect one. (featured--> anne hathaway)

(5) the ultimate wrap dress.

(featured<-- diane von furstenberg taffeta wrap dress)

a classic. flattering for all body types too.

(4) acme made slim cargo laptop bag in peackock and the laptop to go with it!

laptops are a mootcourt and law school essential. but i'm not very tech savvy so im not choosy as to the model. but, the bag has to be just fabulous, right?

(3) a digital camera.

i have always felt the need to explore my picture-capturing capacity, but never getting the chance. (featured<-- canon sd 630)

(2) a metallic satchel.

isn't this gerard darel satchel lovely? unlike the silver bags available today with the fake, easy chip, easy fade finish, this bag is totally amazing. it comes in other hues too. i found this in the neiman marcus website.

(1) a posh new wardrobe.

while my sis pebbles is rachel bilson, ashlee simpson-inspired fashion-wise, i have a partiality towards the fashion sense of kate moss; i love her style. other inspirations--> sienna miller, kate hudson, kirsten dunst, and kate bosworth. i also love this one look in the devil wears prada, still thinking of how i can pull it off.

enjoy the holidays everyone! and more importantly, happy shopping! :-))

humdrums

2006-12-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

i got up this morning fearing for the worst. a hadn't memorized a thing for our special commercial laws exam and i still had a juicy amount of pages i wasn't able to read from my speccomm books (damn that instyle magazine conveniently tucked under my pillow). praying for luck to favor me today (more like pleading), i got up, cooked my sis' lunch, ate breakfast, doubled up on coffee, checked my emails, and started digging through my law books..

and nothing.

i successfully read the same paragraph from the trust receipts law annotations twenty and a half times. seriously. two hours and four measly pages later, i got up, called up my cousin pickle for some much-needed venting, drank milk (don't ask me why), stopped by the couch to skim yesterday's paper, went back up, sat on my desk..

and nothing.

so after a while of doing nothing, or at least trying to do something but ending up doing nothing, i decided to go the superficial route and plan my day's outfit instead. i scanned my closet--not much to choose from seeing how far behind i was on my laundry duties *grimace*. i picked up the soft brown knee-length trench coat with a pink ribbon for a belt which my sis recently bought me and decided on its debut. after i cleaned my shoes, dusted off my pink and brown bag, i was back at my desk. where was i? trust receipts. right.

and nothing.

lunch time comes and i couldn't pass up on taking a break from doing nothing, so i dutifully went downstairs, silently cursed after realizing that our cook took a day off, and stared at the pathetic remainder of that morning's breakfast. tempted into cooking but realizing i really hadn't studied anything, it was a toss between spanish sardines or skyflakes. so i settled for the latter. risking a few minutes of "study" time, i gambled on cooking noodles to go with my crackers (it just takes three minutes, it says so on the pack.) after my sad little lunch, i talked with my mum on the phone for twenty minutes and marched my way back up determined more than ever to study for that darn speccomm exam. the clock says one-thirty.

and nothing? nothing.

i tried, really i did. but my brain was repelling any information i was trying to cram in! so i settled with just reading the text.. then, marathon bath, dressing up, heading for school. still, i was late for corpo class! good thing i wasn't called or you know exactly what i was going to say..

nothing.

come speccomm exam which was just basically a blur, then dinner at mandarin with pebbles and pickle, and fcc singles prayer meeting.. back home by eleven, had a short chat with mum, texted john about my day, drank milk (again) and now..

i think the only good thing about today was the milk.

the cherry on top

2006-11-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

shawi and mylene surprised me yesterday with a victory cake; thanks you guys! :-)) ( it says "super apay strikes again!" hehehe...)

pressroom

2006-11-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

at the risk of turning my blog into an ode to mooting, i lifted this article from http://www.redcross.org.ph/ .

also check out:

http://www .icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/philippines-news-251106?opendocument

Xavier wins IHL moot court competition

Xavier University bested eight other law schools during the second Philippine Moot Court Competition on International Humanitarian Law held over the weekend at the Ateneo Professional School in Makati City. The winning team was composed of Garrett Paolo B. Nolasco, April Ann A. Uy Ang, Zerah Marie B. Absin and coach Jerome J. Jarales. They will represent the Philippines on the 5th Asian IHL Moot Court Competition in Hongkong next year. Three IHL experts judged the championship round: former Ambassador Rosalinda Tirona, Dr. Umesh Kadam, Delegate for the Academe of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – Kuala Lumpur Delegation and Mr. Johan Guillaume, ICRC Protection Delegation based in the Philippines. The other competitors were from Arellano University, Ateneo de Manila University, Cagayan State University, Cagayan Colleges of Tuguegarao, University of San Jose Recoletos, University of San Carlos, University of St. La Salle and University of the Philippines. UP was runner-up while Ateneo and La Salle made it to the semi-finals round. The Best Mooter trophy was awarded to Ms. April Ann Uy Ang of Xavier, while the Best Memorial award was given to the Ateneo team.
Philippine National Red Cross chairman Richard J. Gordon, Mr. Felipe Donoso, ICRC Head of Delegation in the Philippines and Atty. Carlos Medina, Director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center, awarded the trophies during the closing ceremonies.

cheerio! :-))

moot conquered.

2006-11-25T03:25:00.000-08:00

i am exhausted. i am down-to-my-bones tired. but am so happy i don't think anything can dampen my spirits for the next few days! (save maybe me being called for corpo law recitation on monday.) we went to manila to participate in the ihl moot court competition sponsored by the icrc with absolutely no expectations. nothing. qualifying for the semifinals was something, moving on to the finals was unbelievable, but winning??? surreal. on the plane ride home i couldn't quite get over the fact that we were leaving for hongkong to represent the philippines... represent the philippines! i mean, i am barely hospitable to houseguests, i could not possibly pull this one off... i truly feel blessed... God has been truly kind. and i will forever cherish the days i spent slaving over ihl materials and practicing with garrett, cristina, jeanny, zerah, lester and macel. looking forward to hongkong you guys!

moot, moot, moot

2006-11-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

i so need a massage. i spent the entire day being a pretend advocate for international humanitarian law, not to mention being grilled in the process with questions like, "counsel, why do you think major general fenduz is being tried by this tribunal?" duh, like anybody can answer that without sounding stupid. what kind of a juvenile question is that? ofcourse its in the compromis! why else would we be babbling about crimes against freakin' humanity if the compromis didn't dictate that we should?! ok, ok so i'm being unfair to you curious readers who haven't got a clue about what i'm babbling about. sigh... my apologies.

i am, first and foremost a debater than a mooter. this whole moot thing is really taking its toll on me. debate is way easier than mooting. and the comments about the way i speak being offensive? ouch. i'd like to think i'm being aggressive. it is my firm belief that to be an effective advocate you have to be confident about your advocacy. maybe i come on too strong... maybe mooting is just not for me...

but not today, i don't

2006-11-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

i started my day today like i do most days. i woke up at 7am, successfully restrained myself from pressing the snooze button, lugged myself out of bed, secured my hair in a bun, uttered a short prayer, went downstairs, had a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, cooked pebbles' lunch (and ate some of it), and now its 9am and i'm sitting in front of the pc willing myself to finish reading the basic international humanitarian law (ihl) materials i downloaded last night instead of typing away on this baby blog i don't even know why i'm starting. ok so i'm big on procrastinating, surprise surprise. the mootcourt competition in manila is just a few days away... and what do i know about ihl?! not very much. i guess the prospect of going to hongkong entirely for free hasn't really gotten quite embedded in my head, not enough to motivate me, anyway. help me!!! i need saving... save me from the demons of laziness, i think they're voting me queen.